Twins land multiple players in The Athletic's All-Under-25 team this year

With Opening Day right around the corner, ‘tis the season for preseason predictions and rankings all across baseball. Spring Training is in full swing, with the Minnesota Twins down in Fort Myers, and one noticeable thing about the squad is how many young players are vying for legitimate playing time this year.

Minnesota experienced a youth movement last year that arguably saved the season and helped things get back on track. Almost every young player the Twins called up made some sort of positive impact, from Matt Wallner developing into the team’s everyday left fielder to Bailey Ober pitching his way into the No. 3 spot in a postseason rotation.

Royce Lewis was far and away the most popular rookie the Twins called up, and he was also the most impactful. Beyond hitting a record number of grand slams and helping the team end its 19-year postseason losing streak, Lewis delivered on the promise he showed while coming up and has helped lay the foundation for a truly bright future.

It’s a future that folks outside of Minnesota are now paying very close attention to, while also paying respect.

Twins land multiple players in The Athletic's All-Under-25 team

The Athletic recently put together its annual MLB All-Under-25 team, and for the first time the Twins landed multiple players in the ranking.

It’s also the first time since 2022 that Minnesota landed a player in the actual lineup and not simply as an honorable mention. Luis Arraez was the last Twins player to make the All-Under-25 team, but he’s joined by a pairing headlined by Royce Lewis.

Lewis was named the designated hitter, beating out Christopher Morel from the Chicago Cubs.

A healthy Lewis could be in the MVP conversation — yeah, yeah,Twins fans have heard the same thing about Byron Buxton for years now — so I’m keeping Lewis on the field and his bat in the All-Under-25 lineup by sticking him at DH.

Perhaps more exciting was the inclusion of Edouard Julien, who seems to be more of an unsung hero when talking about the Twins youth movement. Lewis steals most of the thunder, but Julien brings about as much boom with his offense and is already a someone that the team needs to bend over backward to find a way to fit him in the lineup.

That's something The Athletic makes a pretty clear case for with how it fit Eddy into its All-Under-25 lineup. Julien is listed as an infielder, with Cincinnati's Matt McLain occupying second. This is similar to a potential situation the Twins will deal with in the not-too-distant future, with Brooks Lee set to make his debut soon which will force Minnesota to make a decision.

Julien is locked into the lineup, but he might slide over to first base to make room. That's an idea that is essentially endorsed by how he fits into The Athletic's lineup.

It’snot just Lewis and Julien that represent how bright the Twins future is — and how much respect is being paid to its young rising stars. Ryan Jeffers and Alex Kirilloff were both honorable mentions on All-Under-25 teams in past years, and both are expected to play major roles in helping Minnesota build on its success from last year.

The Twins have always prided themselves on being able to develop in-house talent, and it seems those efforts are paying off in ways we haven’t seen since the early-2000s.

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